A method for manufacturing a pressure sensor is known from German Published Patent Application No. 199 29 026, in which a semiconductor pressure sensor is mounted on an assembly section of a lead frame, the semiconductor pressure sensor is electrically connected to contact sections of the lead frame, the lead frame together with the semiconductor pressure sensor is inserted into an injection molding tool, and in the injection molding tool the semiconductor pressure sensor is then enclosed in a housing composed of injection molding compound, means being present in the injection molding tool by which a pressure inlet for the semiconductor pressure sensor is recessed into the enclosure and injection molding compound, a plunger being provided in the injection molding tool separated by a gap from the side of the assembly section facing away from the semiconductor pressure sensor. Alternatively, it is known to package sensors which require access to external media, such as pressure sensors, for example, in premold housings. For this purpose the housing mold is first extruded, and the chip is then mounted and appropriately contacted in the prefabricated housing. Since premold housing molds are relatively costly compared to standard mold housings, in the referenced Unexamined German Patent Application attempts have been made to also package pressure sensors in standard mold housings. For example, for this purpose a subregion of the component surface is kept open via a plunger or the like. A disadvantage of all the existing housing molds is that the sensor element is at least partially embedded in a plastic compound. The characteristic curve of the sensor element may be greatly influenced by thermal expansion. This may occur, for example, due to the fact that different thermal expansion coefficients result in stresses in the sensor element which cause erroneous measurements or malfunctions.